


Family Hierlooms

by angeltouch



Category: Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi, mostly just light being a canon typical bastard :/, not really romance despite what the tags imply
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-03
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-08-16 20:58:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16502603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angeltouch/pseuds/angeltouch
Summary: (crossposted from FF.net, un on there is Faded-Reflections)"And yet, despite his charming persona and lack of real evidence against him, Sybella couldn’t bring herself to trust him. There was something about him that uneased her, a voice in her head that told her to take heed.Call it intuition."A young detective with a dark inheritance finds herself drawn to the last man she should be attracted to. There's a reason you don't mix business and pleasure, she realizes, as her world shifts around her. Why, for once, couldn't she listen to what her brain told her to do?





	1. A Bitter Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> death note oc fanfiction? in 2018? i cant believe it either gang
> 
> misc notes:
> 
> sybella is around 19 and by god is she full of angst

The tension in the hotel room was thick enough to cut with a knife. The group of detectives sat in an uncomfortable silence, an uneasy lull in the conversation. Somewhere, a clock ticked out the awkward silence.

“Is it really a good idea to have our prime suspect join this investigation?” The room continued its wordlessness after the sole female among the group spoke, broken again only once she resumed. “If Light Yagami _is_ Kira, it wouldn’t exactly be hard for him to discover our real identities,” She crossed her arms as her voice echoed, intense green eyes digging holes into the pale-skinned man sitting strangely across from her. “It’s pointlessly risky, if you ask me. Especially considering all the safety measures we’ve already taken.”

            “As I’ve said," he began with a sigh, as if explaining a lesson yet again to a dull child, "the chance that Mr. Yagami’s son is Kira is well below 5%, low enough that I feel this risk is worth it. Besides, with the emergence of this “second Kira”, I’ve been given a unique opportunity to test the validity of my suspicions. It's a chance I simply cannot allow myself to pass up.” The man leaned back slightly, bare toes curling pensively. “We’ll show Light the tapes that the TV station was sent, but we will not tell him about the possibility of a second Kira. Knowing his detective skills, it would come as no surprise if he came to the same conclusion. If he suggests that there may be a second Kira, he’s almost completely cleared. If any harm befalls us, I assure you I have preventative measures to ensure that Mr. Yagami's son, assuming he is Kira, shall be brought to justice.” Throughout his speech, he leered almost owlishly at her, his dark gaze seemingly picking her apart methodically. She shifted, uncomfortable, but managed to hold the crouched detective’s stare until his attentions were drawn away.

            Mr. Yagami, the oldest of the group, spoke up.

            “How will the tapes prove my son's innocence, Ryuzaki?” The squatting man did not hesitate with his response.

            “If he is Kira, he’ll want to kill me, the one in charge of the investigation. If I go along with the second Kira’s demands, I will die. Kira wouldn’t miss an easy chance to win our little game. It's simple, really.”

            “So if my son doesn’t think there’s a second Kira, you’ll continue to suspect him?”

            “No. In that case, it still remains below a 5% chance. We’ll tell him we are investigating the possibility of a second Kira, and have him assist us.” An agitated sigh escaped the woman’s lips as Ryuzaki finished his last sentence. There was very little the other detective could have said to alleviate her worries, as evidenced by her stiff posture and continuously uneasy gaze. She wasn’t so much scared of dying as she was of this case going unresolved, of never knowing the face behind Kira. If she had to sacrifice her life alone to see the success of this case, so be it, but she didn’t want all of their progress so far to be thrown away in one fell, careless swoop, because some frog of a man decided to make a stupid decision.

            “Do you see an issue with that plan, Ms. Shimizu?”

            “No, it’s… nothing. Forgive me.” Although she denied it, the tension in her thin body clearly betrayed her unease. She understood Ryuzaki’s line of reasoning, but she still could not place her faith in it. It was too risky, in her opinion, bringing in a suspect like this, even if the chance of him actually being the perpetrator was low.

"...I highly doubt that, but I suppose it doesn't matter. The plan will proceed regardless."

Thankfully, the other detective decided to leave things at that, instead turning his attention back to the rest of the Japanese Task Force.

            “What’s wrong? I thought you _wanted_ to meet Kira. He’s your hero, after all. Isn’t that the whole reason you stayed on this case? Or maybe it’s because you’re just looking for some noble way to die.” The quiet, rasping voice of the creature she had come to know as Nyaru spoke from behind her. Her jaw tightened subtly, gaze becoming steely. ‘ _I thought it knew, after all these years, to not talk to me in public.’_ A raspy laugh echoed in her ears, as the shifted behind her and rustled its wings.

            “Aw, what’s wrong? Did I hit a nerve there, Sybella-kun?” It leaned into her field of vision, impossible to ignore, golden eyes glinting unpleasantly. It bore its fangs at her in a sharp grin, more feral looking than anything in that moment. Sybella looked away in disgust.

            Although she would not admit it, the death god had, in fact, touched a nerve. A particularly large, inflamed one. It wasn’t exactly wrong in its deductions, as much as she hated to admit it. She had clearly remembered sitting at the meeting where it had been outlined, in no uncertain terms, that any member of the N.P.A that wanted to abandon the Kira case was free to do so without consequence. It was highly dangerous, they had said, to go against someone who could kill with just a name and a face. Most likely, any officers that decided to stay on would be killed.

            Sybella had been ambient on the situation until that moment. As the vast majority of the officers attending the meeting had filtered out, she had sat there, gaze unusually focused and determined. She would see this through to the end, and if she happened to die while doing so…?

            Good.

            Sybella was, at best, a cynic when it came to this world. She found it hard to view things in a positive light, not since The Incident, as she had come to call it. As far as she was concerned, her life was easily split into two time periods: Pre-Incident Sybella, and Post-Incident Sybella.

            The former was a child, naive and carefree with her simple, idealistic view of the world and a complete, loving family. She was blind to what lurked in the shadows, to the reality of things like gods of death and the corrupt justice system. Post-Incident Sybella was a different beast entirely.

            A shell, is what she was best described as. Hollowed out, innocence laid bare in front of the slavering jaws of reality. A vengeful, hate-filled poltergeist driven on by some sort of desire for retribution, grounded only barely by it. What was she without her hate, at this point? Forgive and forget, that was what she had always been told after The Incident. Sometimes, people make mistakes that they can never rectify, and no matter how much it might hurt all you can do is forgive them for it.

Forgiving was the first step in the healing process.

Unfortunately, there were some things that Sybella just couldn’t make herself forgive, and killing her parents and nearly crippling her, only to get off scot-free was certainly up there.

“Is something wrong, Sybella?” She hadn’t realized she had zoned out, much less that everyone else had noticed and were casting concerned glances her way. An embarrassed flush covered her cheeks, which in turn made the Shinigami hovering next to her break into a round of cackling.

“I’m fine, Matsuda.” Sybella said, with a smile that didn’t quite meet her eyes. She just wanted everyone to stop looking at her.

“…Anyways, I believe this meeting is over. You are all free to leave now.” Ryuzaki finally dismissed the ragtag team with a wave of his hand. Sybella was the first to stand and make her leave, saying a few rushed goodbyes before promptly exiting. Her heart fluttered almost unbearably fast in her chest, and if she didn't know better she'd think Kira had finally caught up to her. The Shinigami had really gotten to her today, as much as she hated to admit it. She needed to go home, relax a bit. Maybe take a nice long bath with a few glasses of wine. 

But even as she tried to focus her mind on more relaxing topics, she still found her thoughts wandering back to the case. The face of the Yagami boy came to mind, his bold dark eyes digging into her even in her imagination. _‘Could he really be Kira?’_

Her was certainly intelligent enough for the role. A perfect score on his entrance exam to To-Oh, consistently in the top of all his classes, popular with the ladies… There was no denying it, Light was truly an extraordinary young man. And yet, despite his charming persona and lack of real evidence against him, Sybella couldn’t bring herself to trust him. There was something about him that uneased her, a voice in her head that told her to take heed.

Call it intuition.

Maybe it was because of the way Nyaru looked at the boy in the surveillance tapes, almost as if it could see something Sybella couldn’t. A humored glinting in the creature’s eye, golden-fanged grin even larger than usual.

_‘What secrets are you hiding, Light Yagami?’_


	2. Unpleasant Self-Reflection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in which homegirl gets Fucked Up

            Sybella’s home wasn’t much. It was small, clearly meant for no more than one person. To be perfectly honest, it was basically a glorified one-story apartment. It was nicely furnished, at least, carrying with it an air that only well lived-in homes had, the air faintly fragrant with the whisper of incense. Taking her shoes off, she crawled over to the safe haven that was her room. The blinds were tightly drawn, obscuring her chambers from the last rays of the setting sun, casting her in nearly complete darkness. Just the way she liked it. The only thing that stopped her quarters from being pitch dark was single bedside lamp, which at present had a moth preoccupying itself with tossing itself at it.

            She let her hair down, which spilled in a sleek ebony river just past her shoulders. She lazily combed through it with her fingers a few times, before deciding that that was enough pre-bedtime hygiene. She usually showered in the morning, anyways. Sybella slipped out of her clothes, tossing them to the side as she stripped down to just her underwear. She flopped down on her bed with a small sigh, closing her eyes for a moment. Her body was a pale shape in the darkness, her lithe and alabaster body faintly illuminated by the lamp.

            Today had been an… ordeal, to say the least. With the revelation that Light Yagami would be joining the investigation, coupled with Nyaru’s prodding, all Sybella wanted to do now was curl up and sleep. Unfortunately, her mind was running a thousand miles a minute, unwilling to let her rest her aching body. With another sigh, she stood from bed. Looks like she’d have to look towards some more chemical help for this.

            As Sybella made her way to raid her well-stocked wine cabinet, she spotted something on her desk. Frowning, she stepped closer, only to recognize the object laying on the dark, slightly stained wood. The white lettering boldly reading “Death Note” across a black cover was, unfortunately, all too familiar to her. Scowling, teeth gritted, she turned her head to glare at her seemingly empty closet.

            “What the hell did I say about touching my things?!” She shouted. There was a low chuckle, and a pair of golden eyes glinted at her from out of the darkness. Nyaru slunk from the tight confines of the closet, crawling on all fours.

            “That Death Note’s begging to be used, Sy. It hasn’t been written in for years, why not go ahead and give it a shot?” The creature’s claws clicked eerily on the wood floor as it spoke, needle-thin body swaying ever so slightly as it sized her up. Its jaundiced tongue licked its lips in anticipation.

“Would your mother really want you to waste her gift to you?”

            Sybella’s body stiffened.

            “Nice underwear, by the way.”

            “Don’t you _dare_ talk about my mother like that.” She snatched the notebook from her desk, and posed for a moment as if she were about to hit the Shinigami with it. She only registered the creature’s second comment a moment later, pale face flushing red as she attempted to cover herself.

            “You’re a moody bitch today, you know that? Is it that time of the month already?” The Shinigami shot her a lecherous grin. “I’ll never understand why you don’t just give up the note, y’know. Hand it back to me, if you hate the idea of using it so much. Hell, you idolize that Kira guy, don’t you? Do the same thing as him, start killing criminals n’ all that. Bring justice to the world. Though…” The creature held out a hand with a roll of its eyes, as if to take the notebook. “If you’re gonna sulk around all day and act like the Death Note doesn’t even exist, might as well forfeit it.”

            Immediately, Sybella flinched back as if she’d been burned. She held the Death Note protectively now, almost clinging to it.

            “I won’t let you take the only thing I have from my mother. I… I’m just holding onto it for her.” The creature snorted, again rolling its eyes as it returned to the shadows of the closet.

            “You humans are weird… Anyways, I’m getting tired of waiting, Sybella. Your time is running out, you know. It would be a real shame if you went ahead and died without using the Death Note.” The woman looked down at the notebook clutched tightly in her hands.

            “Maybe it’s for the better that I _don’t_ use it. I wouldn’t be able to go to either heaven or hell if I did, right? Being stuck in limbo for all eternity doesn’t seem worth it.” Sybella leaned against a nearby wall. The Shinigami chuckled darkly.

            “Would you still be saying that if you could take revenge on the man who slaughtered your parents, who tore your family apart? We both know he deserves to rot, why not get it over with?” Sybella purposely looked away from Nyaru, grip on the notebook only tightening.  
            “He already had his day in court, he was found innocent.” The words felt dead in her mouth, echoing from her throat in a near parroting monotone. She’d heard the exact same words told to her many times before, trying to assure her that the man didn’t _really_ mean to kill her parents. “You…you can’t take justice into your own hands like that.” In all honesty, she didn’t believe a word of what she was saying. A hand trailed across the scar spanning the side of her thigh, the thickly raised surface meaningless braille to all but her. The knots of scar tissue spoke the story of a family destroyed, of hopes and promises ripped apart with the screeching of metal and snapping of bones.

            “Oh, that’s bullshit. That’s your professional side talking, the one you put up as a nice pretty front for your coworkers. I _know_ the real you, Sybella. I’ve been with you for 8 whole years. Every night, you’re in front of the TV, waiting to hear anything about Kira. You’re on those websites too, y’know. The ones that have the lists of criminals’ names.” Nyaru’s face split in a terrible grin. “You’ve made a few posts yourself, haven’t you? Oh, what would those other detectives think? Having a Kira supporter among them, one with a Death Note no less! How scandalou-“

            “Shut up!” Sybella was shocked at her own outburst, but she simply couldn’t control her anger any longer. She wouldn’t allow such a… disgusting creature slander her, especially about something so serious.

_‘Maybe you’re just mad because you don’t like it when you’re forced to realize the truth about yourself.’_

            Her breathing was coming heavily now, body trembling ever so slightly as she stared the Shinigami down.

            “You don’t know anything about me, you bastard. If I ever write anyone’s name in this thing, it’s going to be yours.” Nyaru cackled at the threat, absolutely tickled by the concept of a human killing it.

            “That so? Well, go right ahead then. Being dead has to beat hanging around you.” The creature gave Sybella one last challenging look, before stepping fully into the darkness of the closet. The woman glared at the spot the Shinigami disappeared to for a moment, before collapsing against the wall. Suddenly, she found herself having had become very, very tired.

            “I do _not_ admire Kira…” She whispered to herself. But like her words from earlier, this sentence was dull, words repeated to herself so often that they had lost all meaning. For some reason, her body felt unbelievably cold. Goosebumps raised along her bare skin, as she unsuccessfully attempted to warm herself by rubbing her hands along her arms. Slowly, Sybella stood, slim legs trembling ever so slightly as she managed to drag herself to the kitchen. She desperately needed a drink, there was no way she could get to sleep without one… or several.

            She tossed the Death Note carelessly onto the kitchen counter, glaring at it as she opened up the wine cabinet. She was the hero of her story here… right? And the last thing a hero did was sympathize with the villains. She selected a 1989 Pinot Noir, swinging the cabinet shut and setting a wine glass on the counter.

            She considered just pouring herself a single glass and leaving it at that. But, after today’s events… she didn’t think that would be enough to put her to sleep. Grabbing both wine and glass, she headed back to her bedroom, stopping on the way there to spare a glance at her TV. Maybe she could catch the evening news, see what Kira was up to-

            No, she wasn’t that person, remember? She felt sick with herself now, hurrying to her room to drown out the night’s thoughts with alcohol and self-loathing. She wasn’t that type of girl. Images flashed in her mind of numerous posts on pro-Kira sites, of love-struck girls pledging their minds, bodies, and souls to Kira and his mission. She was a grown, logical woman, immune to the charms and twisted justice behind some anonymous mass murderer. The only reason she kept such close tabs on the news and those types of sites was to gather intel, see what kinds of things people were saying. Though, Sybella couldn’t deny that her activities would definitely seem suspicious to anyone looking in without any reference. Not for the first time, she found herself being thankful that her house was never wire-tapped.

Sitting down on her bed, she poured herself a glass of the dark ruby liquid. Within a few gulps, it was drained, and almost immediately afterwards Sybella began pouring herself another tall cup. It didn’t take too long for her to work up a pleasant buzz and for half of the bottle of wine to be gone.

            The remaining alcohol and now empty glass were set on the bedside table, Sybella practically flopping down on the bed and closing her eyes. A low sigh escaped her mouth, the wine beating her overactive mind into submission. Maybe she could finally get to bed without her guilty consciousness distracting her. Rolling onto her side, she pulled the covers around herself.

            Slower than she would’ve liked, she was pulled into the depths of sleep.


	3. First Contact

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the rat bastard of trash mountain shows himself

Sybella watched silently as Light Yagami was allowed to view the second Kira’s tapes. Somewhere in the back of her mind, a hangover buzzed, pressing outwards to throb at the walls of her skull. It was like some spiked, clawed creature, sharp angles and barbs sending waves of low and stabbing pain through her head. She knew she shouldn’t have drunk that much the night before, especially since she had work. But had she listened to her conscious? No, of course not.

Her eyes squinted against the light of the hotel room. Even with the blinds drawn, the dim light was enough to make her want to curl up and die. She just needed to make it through this meeting, then she could go home, lay down in bed, and regret every single life choice she had ever made. Just focus, she tried to tell herself, don’t let the others know how much you hate yourself right now.

“Coming into work with a hangover, Syb? Wow, and here I thought you were responsible. Guess I was wrong, huh?” The Shinigami hovering over her shoulder cackled, and Sybella had to stop herself from glaring at it.

_Focus._

Even though she couldn’t see Light Yagami’s face, she knew his gaze was intense, concentrating on the Second Kira’s tapes. Beside her, Mr. Yagami stood, body almost painfully tense with nerves. Though, he has every reason to be nervous, Sybella thought to herself. She’d be concerned too if her child might be an omnipresent, mass murdering serial killer.

Finally, the tape finished. Ryuzaki cast an expectant glance at Light, waiting eagerly for his response.

“What do you think, Light? Did you get something from it?” The Yagami boy was silent for a moment, before standing from his seat. The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife.

“There may be more than one person who has Kira’s power.” As the sentence left Light’s lips, his father sprang into action.

“Kira’s _power_?! What do you mean, Light?” Sybella’s gaze fell on Mr. Yagami as he outburst, wincing as his raised tone of voice cut through her head like hot knives. _Jesus Christ old man, you don’t need to yell. He can hear you._ Well, at least it seemed like Light had found out that there was a second Kira. Good for him.

“I think that there’s a good chance that this is not the Kira we know. Up until now, Kira’s never used suspects like these for his announced killings. Furthermore, if Kira needs a face and a name to kill, isn’t it strange that he was able to kill the detective and officers who happened to rush to the television broadcast building?” Sybella shrugged, and despite her rather agitated mood she had to admit that she was impressed.

“Wow. That’s almost exactly what Ryuzaki said.” Judging by the faces of her fellow task force members, she wasn’t alone in her amazement. Beside her, Mr. Yagami’s posture loosened considerably, and for a moment Sybella thought he would collapse from relief.

“That’s right, Light. I also think we are looking at a second Kira.” Ryuzaki spoke.

“So, you knew, Ryuga- I mean, Ryuzaki?” Light crossed his arms. “Was this your way of testing me?”

“I wasn’t testing you. It’s not convincing if I’m the only one that argues that there is a second Kira. With you coming to the same conclusion as I did, my theory becomes more believable. You’ve been of great assistance to me, Light. Thank you.” Ryuzaki paused, before continuing. “So, it’s decided. We first have to stop the Second Kira. He obviously sympathizes with the first, and is not very bright. I think he’ll obey the real Kira, so if we make a fake message from him, there is a good chance we can stop him.” After the other detective’s speech finished, Light smiled.

“Great minds think alike, Ryuzaki, I also thought that that would be the best idea.” Ryuzaki nodded.

“Light, I would like you to play the part of the real Kira.” Sybella couldn’t help the amused snort that escaped her. Ryuzaki was a cheeky bastard, wasn’t he? Light was obviously a bit taken aback, stuttering his response.

“M-me?”

“Yes, with your intellect, you should be able to play the part convincingly enough. At any rate, we don’t have time to waste. Could you script a message from Kira to air on tonight’s news?” Sybella swore she saw something akin to rage flash in Light’s eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came.

“Of course, Ryuzaki.” From behind Sybella’s shoulder, there was a chuckle.

“You know, Sybella, you should reconsider that eye deal. It’s real handy, n’ it would let you know for sure if this Light guy is Kira. He looks like the type of guy to have skeletons in his closet.” The Shinigami paused. “Plus, you’d get to die sooner. Win-win, right?” Sybella’s jaw tightened. She’d sooner go on to live life as an immortal than to make a deal with this… _creature._

The rest of the day was spent on writing the video’s script and finalizing it. Sybella spent this time relaxing, laying on the couch with an arm draped over her eyes in an attempt to get a few precious moments of sleep. She popped a few Advil, but they did little to quell her headache. Thankfully, however, it seemed to have died down by the time the video was finished and things were wrapped up. She excused herself along with the others, eagerly beginning the walk home. A cool breeze greeted her as she emerged from the stuffy hotel, welcome against her warm skin.

She was about to start her route home before a voice stopped her.

“Excuse me, miss!” She paused, head turning to lay her gaze on the man trying to get her attention. Was that… the Yagami kid?

“Yes?”

Light soon caught up to her, face set with an easy smile. Sybella had to admit, he was certainly easy on the eyes…

“You’re Sybella, right?” She nodded in response, while her brain was trying to figure out what Light wanted from her.

“That’s me. Did you need something?” Light looked at her a moment, before letting out a soft laugh, leaving her wondering if she’d said something unintentionally funny.

“No, it’s just…” He paused for a moment. “I was wondering if you’d like me to walk you home? The streets are dangerous at this time at night, especially for a woman.” Behind Sybella, Nyaru cackled.

“For a _woman,_ huh? How chivalrous.” She spared a glance at the Shinigami, and for a second she swore she saw its eyes focus on something just behind Light. A specter, hovering just over his shoulder.

The grin that was stretching across Nyaru’s face deeply unsettled her.

Her attention, however, soon returned to the boy himself. She supposed it wouldn’t hurt to accept his offer. Maybe she could learn more about him on the way home, find out what had Ryuzaki so focused on Light.

She smiled at him.

“Sounds lovely. My home isn’t far from here, but I hope I’m not inconveniencing you.” Light smiled in return, offering his arm for her to take.

“It’s no trouble at all.” Sybella took the offered limb, and together the pair set off. The female detective tried to tell herself the faint fluttering in her gut was just the last of the alcohol talking, and the soft flushing of her cheeks from the residual heat of the summer evening.

Behind the homebound couple, a set of Shinigami hovered.

“I know you’re not gonna talk to me because you don’t wanna break some kinda unwritten law or something,” Nyaru began, voice hushed to stop it from reaching Sybella’s ears, “but I’d say things have just started to get pretty interesting, wouldn’t you?” The other Shinigami, as expected, didn’t respond, but his face broke out silently into an even wider grin.


	4. Nighttime Street Philosophy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Local Losers Try To Outbullshit Eachother, More At 11

“So, what was it that made you want to stay with the Kira case? Especially considering how dangerous it is.” Light’s voice cut through the comfortable silence surrounding the pair. Sybella considered her response for a moment. She couldn’t blatantly tell him the truth, not without making things awkward.

“I’m just not the type to give up, I guess. You can’t afford to be, in this line of work. I’m willing to give my life for this case, and besides, I don’t have any family left that would be put in harm’s way by it. My parents… well, they’re dead, to put it bluntly. They’ve been that way for a while now. I have a sister, but she’s…” Sybella paused, painful memories rising unbidden to her mind. “…she isn’t exactly close to me anymore. I don’t know where she is, actually.” She realized that she’d begun to ramble, and a faint blush settled on her cheeks as she finished her explanation. “Sorry for getting a bit dark there for a moment. I hope I didn’t bore you.” Light chuckled, though not unkindly.

“You didn’t bore me, don’t worry. Though, if you don’t mind me asking, what happened to your parents?” Sybella’s grip on Light’s arm tightened slightly.

“Car accident. He was a business man’s son, was named Hideki Todatchi. He was driving drunk, crashed into my parents going 60 in a 30-mile area. It was a miracle me and my sister got out mostly unharmed. He got off scot free, a lot of people say he bribed the jury. I think… it was being let down by the justice system like that was what led me to become a detective.” _And a Kira supporter._

Light cast her a sympathetic glance.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be. It’s not like you caused it, right? Bad things like that just happen sometimes, and all you can do is get back up after life knocks you down and spits in your face like that, without even apologizing. Sometimes, you just have to keep moving.” Sybella paused for a moment. “You know, it’s funny. In an ironic way, of course, not in the funny kind, but I was 13 when my parents died. And yet, I don’t have a single memory of either of them; I must have hit my head pretty hard in the crash, I guess. All I have to remember them by is this notebook my mom left me.” She felt Light’s arm tense under her hand.

“A notebook?”

“It’s odd, isn’t it? It’s nothing special, it doesn’t have anything written in it at all. Just a plain, all black notebook, with the words “Death Note” on the cover. Kind of morbid, huh?” Sybella let out a short, humorless laugh. Looking over to Light, however, she saw his face was unusually serious.

“Are you sure there’s nothing written on it?”

“I’m almost certain. I’ve checked and made sure she didn’t use invisible ink or anything. It’s just… blank.”

“Maybe there’s a secret message hidden somewhere? It might help to have a fresh set of eyes look at it. If you don’t mind… maybe I could see it?” Sybella hesitated for a moment. Could Light see Nyaru if he touched the notebook? She never bothered to ask the Shinigami how the notebook worked in-depth, only knowing that someone would die if you wrote their name in it. But surely, it would have mentioned such an important fact?

“Sure.” She said with a slight shrug. “I don’t think you’ll find anything, I’ve looked it over more times than I can count. But who knows? If there’s actually something there I’m sure you’ll be able to see it.” Sybella smiled at him. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to hang out with Light. Butter him up a bit, worm her way closer and see what she could get out of him. It was no worse than what Ryuzaki was doing, albeit slightly subtler. This was all just detective work, she tried to tell herself.

Light chuckled at her compliment.

“Well, I guess we’ll see.” The pair walked in silence for a few minutes longer. Around them, the Japanese nightlife was alive and wild. There were the scents of food, the sounds of thousands of conversations, all illuminated by glaring neon lights. To the casual observer, Sybella and Light seemed like just another one of the hundreds of young couples.

As they neared her house, the crowds died down, densely populated streets giving way to quiet alleyways. The buildings drew closer, looming over the pair with windows like hungry eyes. A comfortable silence had fallen between them, until Light finally spoke.

“I know you must be against Kira in some way if you’re working on the case, but what are your full thoughts on him?” Sybella cast a glance at him.

“Well, like you said, obviously I think Kira’s wrong.” Her words became hollow, as she fell into the practiced response she spouted off whenever someone asked her something like this. Kira isn’t really bad but his methods are and also evil, he isn’t pure just he’s just another killer blahblahblah. “Although, I don’t think that Kira’s completely evil. He’s misguided, driven by his own sense of justice after being wronged by the world. I sympathize with him, in a way. After what happened to my parents, how could I not?” Behind her, Nyaru cackled.

“That’s a bit of an understatement, isn’t it?” She resisted the urge turn around and slug the Shinigami right in its gold-fanged, grinning mouth. After Sybella spoke, Light nodded.

“I don’t know if I’d admit this to Ryuzaki, but I agree with you. I can see the justice in Kira’s actions, though obviously the way he’s doing things is wrong. You can’t kill people without some kind of fair trial, at the very least.”

“That’s true. Who knows, maybe Kira has accidentally killed some falsely accused innocents. With all the people he’s killed, he obviously doesn’t have the time to look into every single one. Besides, I don’t think doing so would bother him too much, he made that clear when he killed all those investigators.” She couldn’t just wax Kira’s praises the whole time she was talking to Light. She needed to balance the bad with the good, or else it would look suspicious.

 She knew why Kira had killed those men. They were getting in the way of justice, trying to disrupt Kira’s creation of a new world. To make an omelet, you had to crack a few eggs, the saying went. Not for the first time that night, Sybella felt Light stiffen ever so slightly under her hand.

“Well, he didn’t kill them for no reason. He did it because he felt like they were in the way, not because he enjoyed it.” Green eyes cast a glance at the male casually. Had she hit a nerve, hit a bit too close to home perhaps? Maybe he’d let that mask of his slip, if only for a brief moment. Maybe she could use this to her advantage. Even if she did agree with Kira, that didn’t mean she didn’t want to learn his identity.

“Well, regardless of _why_ he did it, that doesn’t change the outcome. Killing people because they get in the way of your plans is, well, evil.” Lying, Sybella had come to realize, was beginning to come easy to her. In fact, she felt like she was beginning to get quite good at it.

“You know…” Light’s gaze became unusually intense as he looked at her. “I feel like you’re not telling me what you really think. It’s like you’re just repeating things that you’ve heard other people say.” Well, maybe she wasn’t as good as she thought. “Regardless of what your true thoughts are, I promise your secret is safe with me.” A nervous laugh escaped her lips, eyes quickly searching for something to distract from the…sticky subject at hand. Thankfully, the universe seemed to be on her side, at least for this moment.

“A-ah, here’s my house.” Pace quickening, she fumbled in her pocket for her keys, hands trembling ever so slightly. _Damnit._ She needed to learn how to fake it better, how to hide the doubt in her eyes when she said how she thought Kira was wrong. Assuming Ryuzaki was wrong in his suspicions, it would do no good to make herself a suspect to Light. And if Ryuzaki was _right…_

Kira had demonstrated himself to be volatile already. Who knows what he would do when faced with a supporter of his in the wild. He’d demonstrated himself to be at least somewhat narcissistic, yes, so he would most likely enjoy the praise for a while. But after he became bored? Well, there was no real telling what would happen.

The door, at last, swung open, revealing Sybella’s modest housing.

“Sorry about the mess, I wasn’t expecting company.”

“It’s not _that_ bad. Don’t be so hard on yourself.” Light stepped inside behind her, shutting the door on his way in. Thankfully, he seemed to have forgotten, or at least dropped, their previous conversation.

“The notebook’s right there, if you want to take a look at it.” She nodded towards the kitchen counter, where the Death Note lay. Light walked over to pick it up, casually lifting it in his hands to scan over the cover with his eyes.

His gaze flicked back to Sybella for a moment. For a split second, his eyes widened, as if he saw something terrifying lurking in the shadows behind her. As if he saw Nyaru.

“Something wrong?” Her heartbeat quickened. There was no way he could, right? Nyaru hadn’t said anything about other people touching the note.

 Or, maybe the Shinigami just didn’t say anything because it wasn’t asked.

Behind her, she heard Nyaru cackle.

Almost as soon as the look entered Light’s eyes, it vanished.

“What? Oh, no, it’s nothing. I thought I saw something, that’s all.” He gave her a polite smile, though a lingering look in his eyes told her a different story. He _knew,_ there was definitely no questioning it now. Why wasn’t he saying anything? Whatever the reason, it was some sort of strategic move, that much was certain. A cold bead of sweat worked its way down the small of Sybella’s back.

Light casually flipped open the Death Note, briefly scanning through its blank pages.

“Maybe your mother ripped out a few pages?” He looked back to Sybella, clearly expecting an answer.

“I don’t think she did, no. I remember looking specifically for that, I think I would’ve noticed if she did.” Her heart was beating a wild staccato in her ears. _Why wasn’t he saying anything?_ She almost wanted to scream; her hands were shaking with an almost unbridled and fearful energy. Light looked back to the notebook, seemingly oblivious to Sybella’s inner turmoil.

“Well, I don’t think there’s anything hidden in here. If you find anything of interest though, feel free to tell me. If it’s not too personal, of course.” He smiled at her, before placing the Death Note back on the counter. “Anyways, I should get going. It’s getting late.” Light made his way to the door, looking back at her one last time before he departed. “I hope you have a good night.”

And with that, he was gone.

Sybella stood in place for a moment, simply staring at the door through which Light Yagami had left. Slowly and shakily, she released a breath that she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Her legs felt like jelly, and it took concentrated effort to keep herself standing upright. There was an unpleasant tingling in her scalp, and she swore she could taste bile in the back of her throat. What had she done?

Behind her, Nyaru grinned.

“So, I _guess_ there were a few rules about the Death Note that I might’ve forgotten to tell you about…”


End file.
